Support for soldering irons



July 6, 1937. s STRADLJNG' 2,086,102

SUPPORT FOR SOLDE'RING IRONS Filed May 18, 1936 IN VENTOR 52?? M @Z M12962! 12 9 A TTORNE Y Patented July 6, 1937 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFK'ICE SUPPORT FOR. SOLDERING IRONS Samuel Stradling, Bridgeport, Conn.

Application May 18. 1936, Serial No. 80,353

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in attachable supports for soldering irons and the like, and particularly to the modern commercial type of electric soldering iron.

The object of the invention is to provide a support which may be attached to the forward end of the iron in spaced relation to the hot point and designed so as to support this end of the iron in a raised position above the floor or bench upon which it is resting while not in use. The support is further designed so that when in use, the support can be folded up out of the way in a straddled position against the iron in a manner to' leave the iron free to be conveniently ll handled.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support which is adapted to be adjusted lengthwise upon the head of the iron, so as to be posi-= tioned nearer to or farther from the hot point end. The support is formed principally of two pieces, one .a sleeve member which encircles the head of the iron and the other a specially formed wire member which is hingedly attached to the sleeve and is provided with a suitably constructed base portion to engage the floor or other object upon which it may rest and at the same time, adapted to straddle the shank of the iron when folded back out of the way to permit free usage of the iron.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a support including a sleeve that is adjustably mounted upon the elongated cylindrical head of the iron and to proportion the sleeve so that it can be attached to and adjustably mounted on commercial types of electric soldering irons, thus making it adjustable for different sized irons and adapted to be commercially manufactured as an electric iron support for irons which are not originally provided with a suitable support.

The base of this support is further provided with non-skidding insert members which may be in the form of suitable shaped rubber plugs or washers and so attached as to project from 45 the underside of the base of the support to engage the surface of the bench in a manner to'prevent the support or the iron from slipping from its supporting position. v

The invention enables a workman or user of an electric iron of this character to employ the same in soldering and fusing operations which may be of a continuous application or-alternate applications of the iron to the work, in which latter case the iron may be obviously laid down upon the bench without the necessity of turning oi! the electric current and without danger of the iron setting the bench on fire.

The invention will be readily understood from a consideration of the following detail description taken with the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification. While this drawing shows a practical form of the invention it will be understood that the detail of the same may be varied so long as such changes and modifications come within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an electric soldering iron having one of my improved supports attached and in the act of supporting the iron in an elevated position as upon the surface of a bench or table.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of an iron with the attached support in a raised or closed position to permit free use of the iron.

Fig. 3 shows a front view of the support detached and upon a slightly enlarged scale, and

Fig. 4 shows a detail cross sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1

through one of the looped portions of the base including one of the rubber inserts.

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawing it] represents the handle of an electric iron, i I the elongated cylindrical head, ii. the hot point, l3 a suitably covered electric wire adapted to feed and heat the iron as in the melting of solder for soldering sheet metal. The handle of this iron may be formed of wood or composition as preferred, while the head H as shown in the drawing is cylindrical in form and has a forward tapered end portion l4 and a collar IS. The foregoing description and illustrations to which it applies, refers to one of several commercial types of soldering irons and is not especially material so far as the use thereto of my support isconcerned since it is equally applicable to others.

The support as shown in the drawing comprises an attachable cylindrical sleeve l6 whose inside diameter is slightly larger than that of the outer diameter of the head Ii, in a way to he slid over the pointed end i2 of the soldering iron as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This band is thus adapted to be positioned at any desired place on the handle and is adapted to be secured in place by oppositely positioned screws i'i--il that are threaded to engage aligned tapped holes in the sleeve and extend therethrough in a manner to engage the surface of the head.

The invention further includes a supporting member 23 preferably formed of wire, attached to and depending from the above mentioned sleeve. As constructed this supporting member is formed of a single piece of wire bent substantially midway of its length to form a relatively large loop which constitutes the base of 'the support. The two end portions of the wire are disposed upward forming legs 20 ofequal lengths and each terminating in an eye I! in which the screws Il-Il are positioned for attachment to the opposite sides of the sleeve. A clamping washer I 8 is preferably positioned between the head of each screw which also extends through the eyes IQ of the legs 20 above referred to. This washer obviously provides suillcient friction to prevent the support from accidentally turning and thus serves to hold it in both a raised and lowered position. The portion of the wire forming the loop 28 also includes two smaller loops 2l-2l that extend outward to receive and support plugs 22 that are preferably formed of rubber to form a suitable footing and to prevent slipping. The larger loop 23 is of suillcient size so that when the support is swung up from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to that shown in Fig. 2. The side members of the loop will snap by the collar l5 and be retained in such position as against accidental displacement.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a soldering iron including an elongated cylindrical head, of a sleeve adJustably positioned on the head of said iron, a wire support including a. horizontally disposed loop portion forming a footing and having two upwardly extended legs with eyes formed of their upper end portions, the said footings including two circular loops, rubber inserts positioned in said circular loops. to hold against slipping, aligned screws mounted in said eyes and threadably engaging the sleeve and engaging the cylindrical head to adjustably secure the sleeve thereto. the legs of the support being thus hingedly attached to opposite peripheral portions of the adjustable sleeve to permit the lower portion of said support to be swung up against and in spanned relation to the handle of the iron.

2. A support for a soldering iron, comprising a sleeve, a wire support including spaced apart legs having eyes formed of their upper end portions .and their lower portions connected by a horizontally disposed loop forming a footing, two spaced apart loops formed in said looting, rubber inserts positioned in said loops to hold against slipping, aligned screws mounted in said eyes and threadably engaging the sleeve for hinged attachment thereto and to adiustably secure the sleeve to an iron by engagement therewith, the legs of the support being thus hingedly attached to opposite peripheral portions of the adjustable sleeve to permit the lower portion of said support to be swung up against and in spanned relation to the iron.

SAMUEL S'I'RADLING. 

